Although we are not quite done yet as the Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Moto3™ squad is staying in Brno for a test on Tuesday, the first half of the season comes to an end with round 12 complete! Rookie Valentin Perrone did a decent job on Sunday to secure P8 and the win of his group, and Jacob Roulstone secured P14 and some points after a rather difficult weekend.
Grand Prix of Czechia
As he lined up in 6th on the grid of the Tissot Grand Prix of Czech Republic, Valentin Perrone took a decent start to approach T1 on the inside, and he gained one position to 5th after the first corner. It was elbow-to-elbow with his opponents as the rookie battled to keep his spot, with many overtakes going on in the opening lap. Lacking a bit of confidence, the young 73 had dropped to 7th entering the second lap, behind Angel Piqueras. Meanwhile, Jose Antonio Rueda had taken the lead. The laps were fast early into the Brno showdown, and Piqueras escaped away as he clocked in the fastest lap of lap 3 with a 2’05.764. First time pole sitter Guido Pini had dropped, and he led Perrone by a tiny gap of 0.072 seconds on lap 4, but the young Argentinian made a small mistake that saw him go down to P10 towards the back of the front group. Halfway through, Valentin still sat in 10th, while having some battles with the riders behind him, but he always managed to regain the 10th place. As 5 laps remained, the young ‘Coyote’ started to provide the extra effort, as he moved up to 9th, now in the backwheel of the fast Ryusei Yamanaka. Valentin dropped to 11th to the back of his group in the first sector of lap 14, as the battle for the crown of that group was on. Jose Antonio Rueda was flying solo at the front, 3.5 seconds ahead of the chasing group led by the Aspar duo Foggia-Quiles. Entering the last lap, Perrone sat in 9th as he was fighting like a warrior against his opponents, but the game was not over yet, he wanted to win his group. A brilliant move on Ryusei Yamanaka in the last sector saw him cross the finish line in 8th! Good job from the rookie boy, once again in the points!
Starting from 15th, Jacob Roulstone gained one position at the race start to sit in 14th after the first sector, but it was busy in the middle of the pack, and he returned to 15th entering lap 2. On lap 3, the Aussie could move past Marco Morelli to 14th with now fast rookie Alvaro Carpe 0.5 seconds ahead. After 6 laps, Jacob was closer to Carpe as the battle for the front of the chasing group approached, but we saw Jacob drop to 16th in the last sector of that lap. He managed to refocus quickly and regain the positions lost. These remained the same for a while, and the Australian was still in 14th with just 5 laps to go. The number 12 was a bit more than one second to the rider ahead, leading the third group. However, the battles in the final laps were not easy, and Jacob struggled to overtake the riders ahead. In the end, he finished in 15th. However, a late penalty given to another ride sees him finish with the 14th place, to score a few points just before the summer break.
VALENTIN PERRONE: "We are happy with 8th. I made a good start, to P5, but many riders overtook me and I struggled a bit to overtake them back. It was difficult to keep the pace with the front guys, they were super fast, so I lost contact with that group. Anyway, when I saw that just 5 laps remained, my target was to win the group in which I was, which I did! P8 is good, we are getting closer and closer to the fast guys weekend after weekend, which is our target, so I think that we can be proud of our first half. Let's reset a bit in the summer, and arrive in Austria in good shape to keep the work going!"
JACOB ROULSTONE: "I am very disappointed with today's race. I knew today would be challenging from P15, considering our Saturday. I made a decent start, I made a couple of nice moves, but I got passed back heading into turn 2. I tried to go with the faster guys, but it was difficult to keep the fast pace. I am still lacking confidence with the front of the bike, so I am quite happy to stay here for Tuesday's test, so we can figure out how to improve this aspect. Disappointing to end the first half of the season like this, but we will work harder than ever this summer to come back to Austria in good shape, and show our true potential."
HERVE PONCHARAL, Team Principal: "We wrap up the first half of the season with an interesting weekend in Brno. We were quite happy with Valentin Perrone’s pace since the start of the weekend, so we knew there could be something nice to do in the race. Although Valentin got a good start from 6th, he lacked a bit of aggressivity and confidence in the opening laps, and he lost some positions. His group lost contact with the leading group as they were all battling with each other, so from then, the mission for Valentin was to be the winner of his group, which is what he did! He won a tough group, which I am really proud of! P8 is not his best result, but he is a rookie, it was his first time ever in Brno, he learnt a lot, so I think that we can be happy with the weekend he did. The weekend was disappointing for Jacob Roulstone! Qualifying was not easy, but still he managed to take a good start, and he was in the big group. Unfortunately, he did not have the pace to stay with the front, and he lost contact with the group ahead. So the mission for him was also to win his group, which he did in P15 with a point. It is not the weekend he was expecting, but we know he has the pace, results will come. We just need to figure out a bit better how we organise our weekends, and I am sure that Jacob will be able to fight at the top in the upcoming rounds! Anyway, we still have one day of testing here in Brno on Tuesday, but I wish a very good summer break to the riders and team! See you in Austria!"
RACE RESULTS
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 33'40.677
2. Maximo Quiles (SPA), CFMOTO Aspar Team, +3.471
3. David Muñoz (SPA), Dynavolt Intact GP, +3.495
8. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +5.579
14. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +10.817
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
1. Jose Antonio Rueda (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 228pts
2. Angel Piqueras (SPA), MT Helmets - MSI, 143pts
3. Alvaro Carpe (SPA), Red Bull KTM Ajo, 132pts
13. Valentin Perrone (ARG), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 63pts
18. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3, 34pts
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - G. Pini (ITA) - 2'05.019 - 155.5 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2025 - J. Rueda (SPA) - 2'05.454 - 155.0 km/h
Best Pole: 2025 - G. Pini (ITA) - 2'05.019 - 155.5 km/h
Top Speed: 2025 - V. Perrone (ARG) - 234.2 km/h
